District of Columbia

Ken Archer opines on whether proposed tax incentives being offered by D.C. to retain the corporate offices of website LivingSocial are a smart trade-off amongst a backdrop of sparse public resources.

April 30, 2012 - Greater Greater Washington

Justin Jouvenal tells of plans for a 25,424-square-foot mansion modeled on the Palace of Versailles, to be built in a Washington D.C. suburb, that's causing a collision between "new and old ideas about the way Washington expresses its success."

April 29, 2012 - The Washington Post

Tim Craig explores one developer's efforts to start the ball rolling on the capital's new 20-year sustainability goals.

April 27, 2012 - The Wahington Post

Lydia DePillis spotlights a host of temporary projects in D.C., from a shipping container fairgrounds to a three-month-long arts event, which have residents, leaders, and organizers seeing vacancy as an opportunity, and permanence as optional.

April 26, 2012 - Washington City Paper

Kaid Benfield laments the capital's "blah"-inspiring National Mall, and discusses three design competitions underway that could give it a second life.

April 20, 2012 - Switchboard

Two commentaries pick up on the recent push to loosen Washington D.C.'s notoriously conservative height limits, and argue that such controversial changes are overdue and, in fact, don't go far enough.

April 19, 2012 - The Atlantic

Tim Craig reports on a new push by federal and city officials to relax Washington D.C.'s building height restrictions, reopening decades-old debates about the look, feel and character of the city.

April 13, 2012 - The Washington Post

Kim O'Connell reports on a new set of design guidelines, produced by Gallaudet University, the nation’s leading institution for the deaf and hard of hearing, that recognize space is an essential part of how people with hearing challenges communicate.

March 31, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Katie Rogers reports on Washington D.C.'s struggles with a burgeoning bicycle culture, as incidents of accidents, harassment, and intimidation rise.

March 22, 2012 - The Washington Post

In light of the recent controversy surrounding the Eisenhower Memorial in Washington DC, and observations from a recent trip to Japan, Christopher Hawthorne pens an opinion piece on memorials - the "eternally fraught corner of design practice.

March 21, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Amanda Hurley examines the furor that has developed in the four months since a design by Frank Gehry for a memorial to President Dwight Eisenhower, destined for a four-acre site just off the National Mall in Washington D.C., was made public.

March 20, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

Emily Badger writes of the traditional process by which developers identify what kinds of new development a neighborhood needs (i.e. by not asking anyone in said neighborhood), and a web tool in unveiled in December aimed at changing this.

March 12, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Lydia DePillis profiles Washington D.C.'s planning director, Harriet Tregoning, and her efforts to reshape the city along smart growth principles.

March 9, 2012 - Washington City Paper

Seven years after a celebrated public-private partnership, NoMa proves a smart growth success, write Rachel MacCleery and Jonathan Tarr.

March 7, 2012 - Urban Land

Drawing on 2010 Census data, the Coalition for Smarter Growth highlights the prevalence of alternative transportation in the nation's capital.

February 22, 2012 - Greater Greater Washington

In downtown Washington D.C., arts spaces are mandated by zoning, however the city's breakneck redevelopment is making such venues increasingly harder to find. Mark Jenkins looks at why a well-intentioned regulation isn't working.

February 13, 2012 - The Washington Post

The good news is that two of Washington's historical treasures are scheduled for renovation and re-use; columnist Steven Pearlstein delivers the bad news.

February 13, 2012 - The Washington Post

Calling it "uniquely terrible", the Times questions whether it will even survive a full floor vote in the House. The editorial lists three major problems with the bill, but notes there are many more.

February 10, 2012 - The New York Times - The Opinion Pages

David Alpert provides a thorough analysis of the first third of Washington D.C.'s proposed new zoning code, and finds a return to kind of development patterns that formed the neighborhoods residents treasure today.

February 8, 2012 - Greater Greater Washington

The runaway success of Washington D.C.'s bikeshare program, in less than two years of operation, has it poised to expand to the city's suburbs this year.

February 3, 2012 - The Washington Post